I would have never heard of BlueStone Steak & Seafood

if it weren’t for Living Social.

“Steak, Seafood with a Creole Cajun flair”

~

Um, yes please!

While you’ll find plenty of BBQ joints, Thai restaurants and Indian fare all over the Twin Cities; you don’t find many Creole or Cajun style restaurants. You may find a random blackened item on a menu or two, but that is about it. Another missing cuisine here in Minnesota? Hawaiian. But that’s for another post…

So when we found out about this restaurant South of the River, we stopped in one night before heading to our friends’ place for a little poker.

You’ll find BlueStone in a newer commercial development right off of Highway 55 and Dodd Road. I don’t know how anyone would know about this area if you weren’t driving past it every day. Getting in and out of the development and driving around to the building to find the entrance is a little tricky, too. But trust me, you’ll get there!

We’ve been there a handful of times now.

Upon entering BlueStone, I was a bit disappointed by the interior. It was not very interesting at all. Although it’s a newer building, the space kind of reminded me of a chain restaurant. But there were a few saving graces: the nice patio outdoors, the bar and the colorful fish swimming in the tank near the restrooms.

On our first visit, we pulled up to the bar, per our usual. There is a small, but decent tap selection. The service was superb! Our bartenders were attentive, worked well together and were quick to offer suggestions. One of which was:

We both swooned over this well-concocted Sangria. However, on our second visit, I ordered another and it wasn’t good at all. If it were my first time ordering it, I would have never ordered it again. I’m not sure why it was not the drink I remembered! 😦 Luckily, during Happy Hour, most drinks (draft beer, bottled beer, rail drinks, house wine and specialty cocktails) are $1.50 off.

I bet you can guess who ordered this:

Rob was pretty ho-hum about this burger. Still, he knew that there were so many other items on the menu that we both wanted to try! And despite that menu, I had to order a “special” because it sounded so good and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to order it on my next visit:

The great news? This dish has now made its way to the regular menu! It really was terrific. Although, this was before our trip to New Orleans, where we had the best cheesy grits of our lives.

Per the BlueStone website:

BlueStone Steak & Seafood specializes in American classics as well as authentic Louisiana Cajun & Creole cooking.  We offer many enticing dishes that will keep you coming back.

Such is the truth. I look at the menu and always have a difficult time deciding! Upon return, Rob tried another approach. This time, he ordered off the Happy Hour menu:

He chose the Smoked Cheddar & Bacon Sliders with a side of Hashbrowns:

Rob was again a little ho-hum about the sliders… Had he not learned his lesson!? But the hashbrowns made up for everything. They were crunchy, yet creamy and cheesy in the middle. They promptly made our “best of” list. However, they are no where to be seen on the menu now. Did they do away with that potato perfection?! We must remember to ask.

There is a section of the BlueStone’s menu that intrigues me so: Rice Bowls:

• Pork Rice Bowl – sweet bourbon BBQ glazed pork shoulder, trinity, red beans, fried egg, bacon pepper relish and andouille cream $13.95
• Beef Brisket Rice Bowl – portabella mushroom, asparagus, caramelized onion, roasted roma tomato, fried egg, horseradish cream $14.95
• Veggie Rice Bowl – portabella mushroom, asparagus, broccoli, roasted roma tomato, red pepper slaw, fried egg, basil cream $10.95  {Add Shrimp or Salmon $5.00}

I wanted to try every single one! With some help from our attentive bartender, I finally made a choice.

I added blackened salmon to this bowl, but it was forgotten. So it is not pictured. They did bring it out eventually and it was cooked perfectly. I loved everything about this bowl! The only problem was that it was sooooo much rice. It’s hard to portion that and not eat too much of it. I loved this bowl so much that it’s going to be hard to try the others.

On another visit, my friend Stacy and I went for brunch. This wasn’t even a week after we returned from New Orleans. So naturally, we had to order the French Quarter Beignets!

$5.95 is quite a deal for the number of “beignets” offered. The only problem? These are not beignets. They are donut holes with powdered sugar. Highly disappointed!

Brunch is offered both Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm. Both the breakfast and lunch menus are available.

I ordered from the breakfast menu:

This is exactly what it sounds like, and to be honest, a little boring. It was waaaaayyy too much food.

Stacy ordered off the lunch menu:

While I can’t remember a time a shrimp po ‘boy didn’t come with fried shrimp, this does make it a bit healthier. Stacy loved this sandwich!

~

Our most recent visit was last Friday.

It was a completely different experience.

When we walked in, it felt like there was no one there! However, it was a beautiful day and the patio was open. A number of people were sitting outside enjoying any glimpse of sun they could.

Service was horrible. Perhaps they were way under-staffed. Our normal bartenders weren’t there. The guy behind the bar was perhaps new; so I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, he seemed unable to focus on more than one thing at a time. He also was not very attentive. He didn’t seem aware when someone from the patio came inside up to the bar to order a drink. {Yes, there was a server out there and yes, that was happening.} He also wasn’t aware when any of the five people sitting at the bar needed a beverage refresher or were ready to order.

Later, another bartender arrived. So this got better. But neither of them seemed very happy to be there. It was all very odd.

I ordered a Sazerac to start – my first since New Orleans! I was saddened to find that our bartender had to look up the drink. It turned out okay, if only  a bit sharp. Rob ordered a Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA. It came out all cloudy and nasty. I thought it tasted funny. Rob decided to drink it anyway, despite the fact that I saw another guy order one earlier and it came out looking just fine out of the other tap.

For dinner, Rob chose:

Now that I look back at the menu online, all steaks are to include a “house salad and one fixin’.” Rob was not offered nor did he receive a salad. I’m sure he wouldn’t care about that, though. Obviously, he went with the asparagus for his side.

I was really surprised he ordered the filet, just one day after I had ordered my favorite filet at Sul Lago while celebrating our anniversary. There is no way that the two could compare! However, Rob was pleased. He liked the fact that this is one place where he could order his steak blackened. He also devoured that chimichurri sauce!

Since we were dining at BlueStone Steak & Seafood, it only made sense for me to order some seafood while Rob got the steak. I considered another Rice Bowl, but in the end went for an appetizer and a side:

I was pleased with my Creole Shrimp Scampi, although I wasn’t sure it was “creole” in any way. Those grilled baguettes were so tasty that it was too difficult to eat just one! The asparagus was nicely grilled! However, I prefer thin spears better. I have to remember that steakhouses prefer everything to be bigger. Though, I don’t think the ends were snapped off of these, making them even more woody-tasting.

If that had been our first visit to BlueStone, it probably would have been our last.

But because we had exceptional experiences the first few times and there are so many things on the menu we want to try, we will be back!

What experiences have you had while dining out that have been inconsistent? 

Have they kept you from returning?

Cheers~
Carrie